By Ron Fassler . . . .
The Acting Company is the brainchild of the co-founders of Juilliard’s drama division, John Houseman, the legendary producer and director, and Margot Harley, who served as its administrator for its first twenty-two years. Designed to extend the experiences of Juilliard’s first drama class, the first graduates of the four-year program toured the country for a year, augmented by outside actors, bringing classical theater to local communities and schools. That initial group consisted of Patti LuPone, Kevin Kline, and David Ogden Stiers, who have been joined over the years by dozens more who have gone on to distinguished careers. While continuing to flourish, the Acting Company is no longer under the auspices of Juilliard, but is an independent entity with its mission statement unchanged: to seek to develop emerging actors and build enthusiastic, knowledgeable audiences for the theater in towns across the United States.
On Monday, April 29, the Acting Company’s Annual Gala—this year titled “Fantastic Journeys”—took place in Manhattan. Hosted by Tony Award-winning actress Julie White, the evening saluted two men, one for their philanthropy and one for their artistry: William H. Wright, II, a tireless advocate for the arts; and Stephen McKinley Henderson, an actor who, among his many credits, was part of the first two years of the Juilliard program back in 1968. In speaking with Henderson, he was honest about why he didn’t make it to graduation, explaining that his political activism took him away from what he thought was his desired goal, to do one kind of theater, but instead took him on a journey to another. Eventually, he came back to finish his undergraduate work, but this time at the North Carolina School of the Arts. He then pursued a master’s degree at Purdue University and later became a professor at the University of Buffalo. Audiences are well aware of his appearances in such films as Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and Greta Gerwig’s Ladybird, in addition to many others (including the current Dune 2). On stage, he was nominated for a Tony Award last season for Stephen Adly Guirgis’s Between Riverside and Crazy, a role the playwright wrote specifically for him.
In his speech, he summed up his career with the saying, “Life is short, art is long.” Attributed to Hippocrates, it derives from an aphorism originally in Greek; its Latin translation, “Ars longa, vita brevis.” Henderson noted that “at seventy-four, I understand that now.”
Anya Whelan-Smith, a recent Juilliard graduate, had an experience post-graduation with the Acting Company in a new production of a classic play of world theater. She described it as “a lean, innovative Odyssey, in a translation by Emily Wilson, which uses iambic pentameter as its heartbeat.” She found herself “grateful to have been cast in an ensemble of such generous storytellers, surrounded by an immensely talented, dedicated creative team and crew.” The experience of bringing it to so many different cities in front of diverse audiences of all ages was in perfect step with, as Whelan-Smith put it, “The Acting Company’s mission of imbuing classic stories with new life was absolutely embodied by our production of Odyssey.”
I also had the opportunity to speak with Kent Gash, the current Producing Director of the Acting Company, who is also a Senior Lecturer at NYU. He echoed the sentiments that classical theater is alive and well in the plays that these young actors are bringing to the masses and how important the power of theater is in bringing people together.
The gala also served as a fundraiser, with a generous audience actively participating in a live auction that became something of a sporting event with much egging on and cheering. The venue at 583 Park Avenue, on the site of a landmark building first built in 1923 as a church, was a perfect spot that provided an excellent cocktail hour and sit-down dinner. Old friends got reacquainted and new friends were made in a convivial atmosphere.
For further information on how you can support the Acting Company, please visit www.theactingcompany.org
Photos: Nina Wurtzel
